Transportation News & Views

Transportation headlines, Monday, March 29

Here’s a look at some of the transportation headlines gathered by the Metro Library. The full list of headlines is posted on the library’s blog. Don’t forget you can also follow the Metro Library on Facebook and Twitter.

Yonah Freemark at The Transport Politic writes up a good summary of what the recently approved Gold Line Foothill Extension is all about. Last week the Metro board committed $690 million to the extension with plans to have trains rolling to Azusa by 2014. Freemark notes the political importance of getting the line moving but questions the ridership potential as the route traverses some relatively low density areas.

A San Francisco advertising student has decided to embark on an adventure of Jules Verne proportions as he plans to ride all 80 MUNI lines in 80 days in an effort to improve public perception of the city’s oft maligned transit system. The project, called “Man vs. Muni”, is the brainchild of Academy of Art University student Bryan Dempler who’s already come up with a pretty good slogan: “Real life happens on Muni.”

Fast Lane, the blog of the U.S. Department of Transportation, talks about the problems the nation’s transit agencies are facing as a result of the economic downturn – which has reduced ridership revenue because of unemployment and local tax revenue as people save their pennies. What this means is transit services have been cut, wait times have increased and layoffs have occurred at transit agencies. A possible solution is temporary assistance from the federal government to allow a portion of federal funds to be applied to operating costs – something that is not currently permitted.

Amidst growing criticism from bicyclists, the LADOT has launched a blog devoted solely to informing the public about the LADOT Bikeways program. The blog promises to be the place to go for information on LADOT’s upcoming bicycle projects as well as a source of bicycle related news pertinent to the region. The blog is run by a LADOT Bikeways intern who is currently a graduate student in Urban Planning at USC.

The L.A. Times looks at the recent visit of Janette Sadik-Khan, the head of New York City’s department of transportation, to our automobile oriented city. Sadik-Khan is responsible for many forward-thinking initiatives in New York City including banning cars from Times Square and creating 3,000 miles of bike lanes. The thought process in New York City is that streets are a shared resource – pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists all get equal share.